Consensus Study Report

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This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District with funds from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-72637-5
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/27958

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Off-Lake Sources of Airborne Dust in Owens Valley, California. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27958.

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OWENS LAKE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL

ARMISTEAD (TED) RUSSELL (Chair), Georgia Institute of Technology

SARAH AARONS, University of California, San Diego

ROYA BAHREINI, University of California, Riverside

DAVID DUBOIS, New Mexico State University

VALERIE EVINER, University of California, Davis

SHANNON MAHAN, U.S. Geological Survey

TOM MOORE, Regional Air Quality Council (resigned from committee December 2024)

GREGORY OKIN, University of California, Los Angeles

DANI OR, University of Nevada, Reno

ROBERT SCOTT VAN PELT, United States Department of Agriculture

AKULA VENKATRAM, University of California, Riverside

IAN WALKER, University of California, Santa Barbara

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

MARGO REGIER, Program Officer (until May 2025)

STEPHANIE JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer

DOMINIQUE JENKINS, Program Assistant

THOMASINA LYLES, Senior Program Assistant

MILES LANSING, Program Coordinator

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

MICHAEL MANGA (Chair), University of California, Berkeley

MICHELE L. COOKE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

BRADLEY CRAMER, University of Iowa

MARY FEELEY, ExxonMobil Exploration Company

YOUSSEF M. HASHASH, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

DOUG HOLLETT, MH Technology Partners

KATHERINE W. HUNTINGTON, University of Washington

KRISTEN KURLAND, Carnegie Mellon University

JESSICA MOORE, West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey

ANN J. OJEDA, Auburn University

DAVID SPEARS, Virginia Department of Energy

DAVE SZYMANSKI, Bentley University

JOLANTE VAN WIJK, Los Alamos National Laboratory

JESSICA M. WARREN, University of Delaware

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

DEBORAH GLICKSON, Board Director

LAURA EHLERS, Senior Program Officer

STEPHANIE JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer

SAMMANTHA MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer

CHARLES BURGIS, Program Officer

MARGO REGIER, Program Officer (until May 2025)

JONATHAN TUCKER, Program Officer

NOEL WALTERS, Associate Program Officer

MILES LANSING, Program Coordinator

MAYA FREY, Senior Program Assistant

DOMINIQUE JENKINS, Program Assistant

SAMUEL KRAFT, Program Assistant

BRYAN RUFF, Program Assistant

BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

FRANK W. DAVIS (Chair), University of California, Santa Barbara

DANA BOYD BARR, Emory University

WEIHSUEH A. CHIU, Texas A&M University

FRANCESCA DOMINICI, Harvard University

BENIS N. EGOH, University of California, Irvine

CORIE A. ELLISON, The State University of New York at Buffalo

MAHMUD FAROOQUE, Arizona State University

MARIE C. FORTIN, Jazz Pharmaceuticals

SUSAN P. HARRISON, University of California, Davis

MARIE L. MIRANDA, University of Illinois, Chicago

MELISSA J. PERRY, George Mason University

JOSHUA TEWKSBURY, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

SACOBY M. WILSON, University of Maryland

TRACEY J. WOODRUFF, University of California, San Francisco

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

CLIFFORD S. DUKE, Board Director (until May 2025)

NATALIE ARMSTRONG, Program Officer

ANTHONY DEPINTO, Program Officer

KATHRYN GUYTON, Senior Program Officer

LAURA LLANOS, Finance Business Partner

THOMASINA LYLES, Senior Program Assistant

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Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by DAVID ALLEN (NAE), University of Texas at Austin, and MARK SWEENEY, University of South Dakota. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

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Acknowledgments

The Owens Lake Scientific Advisory Panel (OLSAP) would like to thank the following people who gave presentations, participated in panel discussions, and provided public comments.

Contents

SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCTION

Statement of Task and Approach

Outline of Report

2 A SYSTEMS-LEVEL UNDERSTANDING FOR OFF-LAKE PM₁₀ SOURCES

Overview of Controls Over Owens Valley PM₁₀ Emissions

Geological Context

Climatology and Hydrology

Vegetation Dynamics

Anthropogenic Disturbance of Vegetation and the Soil Surface

Climate Change

Tribal Knowledge and Cultural Priorities

Summary

3 SOURCES OF PM₁₀ EMISSIONS IN THE OWENS VALLEY PLANNING AREA

Trends in Owens Lake Air Quality Over Time

Current Tools and Methods for PM₁₀ Source Attribution

Impacts of Local Off-Lake Sources to PM₁₀ Exceedances

Temporal Emission Trends

Additional Monitoring and Modeling Approaches

Conclusions and Recommendation

4 ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LOCAL OFF-LAKE SOURCES IN OWENS VALLEY

Winnowing Hypothesis for Off-Lake Dust

Northeast Side of the Lake

Southern Side of the Lake

North of the Lake

Conclusions and Recommendations

Potential Sources North of the Lake

Further Research to Establish the Origin and Evolution of OVPA Sources

5 UTILIZATION OF THE U.S. EPA EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS RULE IN THE OVPA

The Exceptional Events Rule

Applicability of Exceptional Events Rule for Off-Lake Sources in the OVPA

Public Health Impacts and a Reasoned Use of the Exceptional Events Rule

Conclusions and Recommendation

6 INFORMING DUST CONTROL DECISIONS FOR OFF-LAKE SOURCES

Potential Dust Control Measures on Sand Sheets and Dunes

Potential Dust Control on Flood Deposits

Other Potential Dust Control Measures

Application of Tribal Knowledge for Dust Control

Conclusions

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

A EMISSION FLUXES OF ON- AND OFF-LAKE SOURCES

B ADVISORY PANEL BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

C GLOSSARY

Acronyms and Abbreviations